• Cindy the Slave
    Part One
    "What an hideous child." Miss Giselle exclaims when she sees me. 'What,' I wonder, 'is there something in my hair again?'
    Hello people reading this, I bet you are wondering what in the world this is about, and if you are not then you are probably wondering now. Well this right here, is my story of how I got into the biggest trouble of my life and how I got out of it. Now let's get back to my memory of how it began.
    "I mean, look at her Elizabeth. Her apperance is frighting." Miss Giselle speaks to her friend, Elizabeth, headmaster of the private school.
    "It is such a shameful look." Elizabeth agrees with Miss Giselle.
    They must have seen me when I was not at my best when I was 8. My straight-curly brown hair must have been matted with mud and grass from rolling down that hill and my outfit was probably tattered to an extreme limit that you could sometimes see my skin that clung to my bones, almost revealing them, then my big green eyes puffy from the little sleep I have gotten the last week with a huge smudge on my button nose. My feet were probably like I had stepped into a mud puddle and covered them completly so they looked like they were two sizes bigger then they were.
    Then Miss Giselle's face brightened. "Ooh," She exclaims. "I know what I can do."
    "What?" Elizabeth says eager to hear what she is going to say.
    "Well, you know how Jared," Jared is Miss Giselle's husband poor man, "is saying how unkind I am lately."
    "Yes, what an dumb husband." Elizabeth agreed.
    "Well, I could take this child home, feed her and dress her, then Jared would see how kind I am. Once that is done I could kick her out onto the street again, without telling Jared where she went." Miss Giselle said, evil mixed into her voice.
    "Oh what a wonderful idea, that will show Jared of how dumb he is." Elizabeth said, enjoying Miss Giselle's plan. When I was hearing this I was thinking the whole time, 'Wow they are dumb. Seriously, they are apparently going to feed me and dress me then throw me out onto the street again just to impress someone and make that person feel dumb. I mean I am standing right here, I can hear every word they are saying. Wow, they are mean and dumb, but it is free food I'll get and some new clothes.' I then looked down at my tattered and stained clothes, 'well it would be nice to have something new. No,' I thought 'I am not going to help these people, they are going for a bad cause. I should start running.' I began to run away though Miss Giselle noticed and grabbed a tight grip on my shoulder. I winced from the pain that shot through me.
    "Hello little girl. What is your name?" Miss Giselle asked. When I didn't talk Miss Giselle's grip tightened, sparking a new pain in my shoulder.
    "Cindy." I answered, my arm hurting a ton. 'That is going to have a bruise tomorrow.' I thought. Miss Giselle's grip loosened the tiniest bit.
    "Are you hungry?" Miss Giselle questioned me. I didn't want to answer though I knew that hand was going to get tighter and tighter until I spoke. I nodded, I was truly hungry. "Would you like some food?" Miss Giselle asked. Again I nodded. "Oh, what should we do, Elizabeth?" She asked, in a practiced voice, to Elizabeth.
    "Oh I don't know Miss Giselle." Elizabeth said, playing along with Miss Giselle's little skit. Then on cue Miss Giselle's face brightened.
    "Oh I know. I will take her to my home and give her some food out of the kindness of my heart." Miss Giselle said, totally faking it.
    "Oh that is so kind of you Miss Giselle." Elizabeth said.
    "Would you like to come with me and get some food and clothes?" Miss Giselle asked me. I would have shouted no right away but right then Miss Giselle's grip grew to enormous strength.
    Then I said the next thing that came to my mind to please her, "Oh I would love that, kind misstress." Once my mind caught up to what I said I wished I could take it back. Then Miss Giselle had given Elizabeth an evil grin.
    "Follow us then." Elizabeth said, evil on her face. I followed them that day, going to Miss Giselle's house. I remember what it looked like when we got there. It was quite a walk from where they found me at. Miss Giselle lived in one of those mansions that were for extremly rich people. There was a walkway that had black stones that fit perfectly toghether without the slimmest crack. They had huge lawn with the darkest green grass you could ever imagine. They had a iron gate that was huge and with interesting designs on them.
    Miss Giselle had pushed open the gate that swung as gracefully and soundlessly as a swan and we walked up the smooth path of black rock. There were many trees on their lawn, the only one I recongnized was a pine tree. It was in the corner as if nobody liked it and everybody shoved it into the corner. It was very tall and had so many branches it mesmerized me. I was forced to continue walking. When we had reached the house I didn't think it was a mesmerizing as the tree but it was still nice. It had windows that were washed so brillently they reflected the noon sun. The walls were like a peach only deeper and actually looked good. The two front doors were huge and made of oak. The door knobs sparkled in the sunlight. Miss Giselle opened the doors with a single twist of the door knobs and they opened as soundlessly as the gate.
    The main room was very big. The ceiling had to be 20 feet of the ground and the ground it was a smooth blue stone that you could slip on it as if you were on ice. There were two stairs that at the top connected and made a balcony around the room. On the balcony it had railing that must have been pure gold, since it shined so brightly. The walls were covered with a gentle yellow color. And there were tons of doors, all of dark wood.
    Miss Giselle also seemed to be amazed at her main room but got out her trance much faster than I did and she continued pushing me. We ascended on the right stairway, though I don't get why we did it the pictures were on the other stairway. Miss Giselle probably didn't want me to touch them or something more likely. Once we were on the balcony Miss Giselle went left, again I do not understand why we ascended on the right stairway, and we went all the way until the end of the balcony where there was the last door. Miss Giselle pushed me in first, then she followed, then Elizabeth.
    Inside there was a bustle of noise and every single person was moving, there wasn't one person who was still. It was the kitchen she had taken us into. There were pots that seemed to be overflowing and pans that were flipping food that I have never seen before, and I lived in a gourmet kitchen before. Miss Giselle seemed that she didn't care about how busy it was and found no disgust in it though when you looked at Elizabeth you saw it in her face and posture, she didn't like the kitchen at all. Miss Giselle did a huge whistle and everything went silent except for the occasional peep from a teapot and liquid boiling and splashing inside some pots. "Hello everyone." Miss Giselle said warmly with some poison you could detect in her voice. The kitchen people murmured greetings to her. "I said hello everyone." Miss Giselle said again.
    This time she got a response. "Hello Miss Giselle." The kitchen people said trying to be in time with each other, didn't work though and Miss Giselle gave a pout with her thin lips.
    "Well good day to you too. Alicia come here." Miss Giselle commanded. Then from the crowd of kithcen people came a girl about my age. She must have been eight or a bit older and had carmel brown hair that was straight. Her blue eyes reminded me of a picture I saw of the ocean and they complimented her pointy noise very well. She was tall for her age and was probably 3 feet and 8 inches.
    "Good day mum." Alicia said. When I heard this it shocked me, this girl Alicia was nothing like Miss Giselle and also she was working in the kitchen and apparently Miss Giselle is rich so why is she here. There is no resemblance I saw between them, beside their height I didn't see that they could be mother and daughter. Alicia didn't have Miss Giselle's red curly hair or her muddy brown eyes with those freckles across her nose, it all seemed wrong.
    "Good day Alicia. Now Alicia I want you to take this girl give her some food find her approprite attire to wear also give her something so that she can clean herself up and then send her to my chamber. Got that Alicia?" Miss Giselle said.
    "Take the girl, give her food and clothes, give her something to clean her, then send her off to your chambers, correct?" Alicia asked. Miss Giselle nodded approvingly and left with Elizabeth. Once they left the whole kitchen went back into commotion and Alicia went quickly to me to avoid any huge spill from her being still.
    "Follow me." she said. She grabbed my elbow and steered me to the back of the kitchen where there was a small table and chair set up already. "Now will you stay here will I go get you some food?" She asked me. I nodded and she left. I went closer to the table and chair and saw that it was matching. The table was round and made of wood with four legs making it stand up with designs of leavess and flowers. Then the chair was made of the same wood with about the same designs. I sat down in the car and rested my hands on the table. My hands were very dirty with mud. There was dirt underneath the fingernails and they were short so it was hard to get the dirt out. They might have been nice if the dirt was off and the fingernails were longer.
    Alicia came back and she sent down some bread, cheese, and ham on the table. "Here," she said, "some food." Then she began to leave, going back into the crowd of kitchen people.
    "Wait!" I said and she turned around, "Um... would you like some?" The look she gave me said that it would be a disgrace if she ate with me though her eyes played with hunger.
    She walked over and asked, "Are you sure?" I nodded and she went over to the table and took a piece of bread.
    "So who are you, exactly?" I asked her.
    "I could ask you the same thing." She said not answering my question.
    "Here, I'll tell you me and you tell me you, deal?" I asked.
    "Okay, deal." She said finishing her piece of bread.
    "I am Cindy. I am around eight, I think and my birthday might be on March 5th. I use to live with the baker and his wife though they couldn't keep me then I just wandered around looking for places with food and shelter that I could use. I slept in many different places and did different kinds of work for food. Once I had to take garbage out of a homeless shelter so I could have a bannana. I don't know who my parents are exactly and have no clue where I came from orginally. That is basically my life."
    "How did you get here, then?"
    "Well, I was wandering again trying to see if I could find some restaurant to give me some leftover food if I did some type of chore when Miss Giselle and Elizabeth found me. They were talking about feeding me and clothing me to make someone named Jared feel stupid. Do you know who Jared is?"
    "Yes I know who Jared is, though how do you know those ladies are Miss Giselle and Elizabeth?"
    "Well, they were talking to each other, they talk a lot," Right here Alicia nodded in agreement, "and they said each other names when they were talking about making this Jared guy feel stupid. Now who is Jared?"
    "Aah, that makes sense."
    "Who is Jared?" I asked again getting mad, that she is completly avoiding the subject.
    "Jared is Miss Giselle's husband, my father. He isn't as dumb as Miss Giselle thinks he is. He left about an hour ago, while Miss Giselle was out. He left a note to her saying that she is inconciterate, rude, disgraceful, nags all the time, and has no love in her heart except for herself and money, and I completly agree with him. He came by the kitchen to say goodbye to me, he couldn't take me with him to where he was going. He gave me a stuffed bunny doll since bunnies are his and my favorite animal. I am mostly like him, he says. I bet once you are all nice and you go to Miss Giselle's chamber she will probably see the note and be so sad, that is why there is so much commotion today. They are preparing to give Miss Giselle a feast so that she can eat away her sorrows like she usually does."
    "Oh, I am so sorry, I didn't mean to be rude."
    "It's fine, now don't I need to tell you who I am."
    "Yes, yes you do."
    "Okay, so as you know I am the daughter of Miss Giselle and Jared, father is a duke and Miss Giselle is a duchess. They married about 12 years ago, I am suprised at how long they stayed married. I am 8 and my birthday is on April 29, I have an older sister, Ginger, who is 2 years older than me and is much like Miss Giselle. She is Miss Giselle's favorite daughter. I was sent here because lately father is saying that mother is really unkind, which she has been, so to punish him, she sent me here. I have lived in this house all my life. That is basically all." She said. I didn't know what to say then, and my face must have turned into a pity face for her because then she said, "Oh it is okay here, the chef is teaching me how to read and write." She smiled and it was so nice that I smiled back.
    We finished the rest of the food and Alicia looked like she was very happy. "Now follow me." she said and she grabbed my elbow again and pulled me to the back where there was a door. It was a lighter wood then the doors I have seen in this house lately, the doorknob was a gray and Alicia twisted it. It opened and inside was a thin staircase leading down. It was pretty dark and small torches were on the wall providing a little bit of light.
    We went down and it was a short walk to get to the bottom. Once there it was a huge chamber, full with mattresses on the floor squished toghether. Down the middle it made a narrow walkline and there was a few more narrow walklines between beds that led to the doors on the walls. It feels like you are underground when you are here. At the end of the chamber right at the end of the narrow main walkline was a huge chest. Alicia took me there.
    Alicia opened the chest and inside there were tons of clothes. She started pulling out a few clothes that some were looking new, some old, some tatterted, and some completly stained. "What's up with the clothes in the chest?" I asked her.
    She looked up and said, "They are the clothes that the servants use and grow out of or don't use. Miss Giselle means these clothes when she means that I should give you some clothes. This might be your size." She holds up a dress that looked like it has been used but is still wearable. It has poofy sleeves that end at the elbow and has one of those A-line skirt things. It is a deep red that would look nice on me. She gives me the dress and says, "Here, try this on in that room over there," she points to a door that looks like it is new, "there should be a washrag on the table in there and the sink is on the right wall. Turn it on and put the rag underneath it to get it wet. Then use it to wash your face, feet, and hands. You can try to use it to wash your hair though I don't know how that would go."
    I go to the door she said to go to and twist the doorknob. Inside there was a small room. It has cement walls and floor. There was a sink right where Alicia said there would be and the table is rectagular and is in the middle of the room. The corner closest to me has the washrag that she talked about. I did what she instructed. The dress fit like a glove and the rag worked well, it was able to get most of the mud of my feet and dirt underneath my nails without it getting completly dirty. I finished washing my face and went back out to the chamber.
    When I came out, Alicia looked surprised to see how well I looked then she suddenly looked very displeased. "What? Is there something I missed?" I asked her.
    "Oh it is nothing, just Miss Giselle is probably going to throw a fit once she discovers that father left her. That means she will get mad at you since you will be there. Now to get her not to get mad at you, try your best not to talk a lot and once she picks up the note get out there. Follow me and I will show you how to get out of there quickly." She said. Then she grabbed my elbow again and dragged me to one of the doors. "This is the servers' door usually. It is meant to bring food to Miss Giselle so that she won't get mad at them for being late giving her food or for people to go quickly to her so she doesn't get mad at them." She said opening the door. Inside there was a staircase that was much like the one we went down to get here. The staircase was very dirty from use.
    We ascended up the staircase. It took us as long as when we went to the chamber. Alicia opened the door at the top of the stairs and we were on the balcony on the right side. To my left there was a door that must have been Miss Giselle's chamber. Alicia came out of the door and closed it. When it was closed it didn't look like a door at all, it looked like the wall. I gave Alicia a puzzled look. "Don't tell Miss Giselle, she doesn't need to know everything about this house since she doesn't care about it at all. Now I am going to be behind this door, when she begins to read the note run out and knock on this door, I'll quickly open it and you will slip in. Now go through that door and do what Miss Giselle tells you to. Go!" She ordered and then disappered into the wall-door.